We know about the millions and billions lost to theft, corruption, maladministration, and other widely publicised causes – but what about the more insidious loss of similar amounts to the undeclared movement of taxable funds across borders? On 25 July the Tax Justice Network (TJN) published its annual State of Tax Justice report, and at Read more >
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OPINIONS
By Janine Erasmus – CW Voices “Nigeria and Afghanistan – possibly two of the most corrupt countries in the world.” This politically naīve statement (as we shall see) was uttered by then British prime minister (PM) David Cameron ahead of an anti-corruption summit that took place there in May 2016. But having covered and studied Read more >
OPINIONS
By Janine Erasmus – CW Voices In part one of our latest mini-series, we posed the question: who are the real corrupt countries in today’s globalised context? We considered factors such as beneficial ownership transparency, the implementation of the African Union Anti-Corruption Convention, and pan-African collaboration in anti-corruption research. The usual suspects such as Nigeria Read more >
OPINIONS
First published on Financial Transparency Coalition During the last decade, Russia has expanded its interests and presence in Africa by investing in the mining sector and increasing military support to fragile states, primarily through private military contractors and mercenaries. One of Africa’s most prominent private military groups is the Wagner Group, believed to be financed by one Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Illicit financial flows create an unjust society and further worsen inequality, especially for underdeveloped countries. This is the message from the Tax Justice Network (TJN), which released its 2022 Financial Secrecy Index (FSI) on 16 May. The FSI is a ranking of jurisdictions which fuel financial secrecy by helping individuals to hide their finances from Read more >
OPINIONS
By Mashudu Masutha and Karabo RajuiliFirst published on News24 The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is the global standard-setting body for combating money laundering, setting minimum standards via 40 recommendations. It has sanctioning mechanisms for countries that fail to comply. Recently, the organisation updated its Recommendation 24, which deals with beneficial ownership transparency – and Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
By Maureen Kariuki, Karabo Rajuili and and Edwin Wuadom WardenFirst published on Open Government Partnership Corporate anonymity poses significant risks to domestic resource mobilisation in Africa. Research by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) suggests that African countries can retain an estimated US$89-billion per year if illicit capital flight can be addressed. Accelerating Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Image: Michael Kuhlmann for UNCTAD Over one trillion dollars. That’s the amount of money that Africa is estimated to have lost in illicit financial flows (IFFs) over the past 50 years (Kar and Cartwright-Smith, 2010; Africa Growth Initiative, 2020). The current estimate is an annual amount of around $50-billion, and possibly more – a significant Read more >
CORRUPTION NEWS
Beneficial ownership is back in the news at the moment. Opacity in knowledge of the real person behind a company, trust, or corporation, and who will ultimately benefit from its activities – the beneficial owner – is crucial to combating money laundering, tax abuse, and corruption. Illicit financial flows (IFFs) cost money, resources, and Read more >